This registration form is for Tuesday, March 4, 1:00–3:00 p.m. ET
This program was also presented on January 23, 2025 and February 18, 2025.
| MCLE Credit: | 2.0 |
| Live-Interactive Credit: | 2.0 (all dates, all formats) |
| Designation Credit: | 2.0 Trial Practice/Litigation |
In the 162 years of its existence, the federal False Claims Act (FCA) has become the single most important tool used to stop those who would defraud government programs. Since 1986—when the law was substantially revamped and modernized—the United States has recovered more than $75 billion, with nearly $5 billion of that being recovered in the last four years.
The federal government’s success in recovering for fraudulent claims under the FCA caused the states to take notice, and, in 2002, Virginia became one of the first states to enact a state FCA statute when the General Assembly passed the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act (VFATA). Broadly speaking, the FCA and VFATA both make seven defined categories of behavior illegal and impose treble damages, civil penalties, attorney’s fees, and costs on those who violate the law. Damages in these cases recoverable by private parties can be significant depending upon the type of fraud. Successfully prosecuted claims filed by whistleblowers under the Virginia Whistleblower Law can receive 15–25% of the state’s recovery. In cases prosecuted by the whistleblower on their own with private counsel, the recovery can could be 25–30% of the award.
The real power of the statute, however, is found in its qui tam provisions, which empower any “person” with non-public knowledge of false claims on the government to retain private counsel and bring a whistleblower claim on behalf of the United States or the Commonwealth of Virginia or both. Thus, the statutes essentially empower lawyers in private practice (and their clients who have knowledge of fraud on the government) to become an important “force multiplier” supporting the efforts of both federal and state law enforcement.
Simply put, government now plays a larger role in our daily lives than ever before. As a result, practitioners with clients in areas as diverse as health care, government contracting, construction, banking, and many more will find this seminar to be useful. The program begins with an overview of both state and federal statutes and includes a summary of important recent decisions. Attendees will also learn about the somewhat mysterious process of initiating a qui tam action and how to avoid the numerous procedural pitfalls that await the unwary.
Registration Deadlines:
| Webcast: | 10 minutes prior to seminar. If you register for a webcast the day of the seminar, your e-mail receipt will include a link to launch the seminar and download the materials. |
| Telephone: | Online registration ends at 11:59 p.m. the day preceding the seminar Call (800) 979-8253 to register up to one hour prior to the seminar |
Cancellation Policy: Cancellation/transfer requests will be honored until 5:00 p.m. the day preceding the seminar. You will, however, be charged $40 if you cancel or transfer your registration to a different seminar after the link to the materials has been e-mailed by Virginia CLE®.
Full refunds or transfers are available up to two days after a webcast in the unlikely event that you experience technical difficulties.
Inclement Weather Policy and Updates
MCLE Credit Caveat: The MCLE Board measures credits by the time you spend in attendance. If you enter a seminar late or leave it early, or both, you must reflect those adjustments accurately in the credits you report on your credit reporting form. A code will be given at the end of the seminar, which must be written on your MCLE form.
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1:00 | Understanding Qui Tam Litigation under the federal False Claims Act and the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act 2025 |
3:00 | Adjourn |
Zachary A. Kitts, K&G Law Group / Fairfax
Robert McIntosh, Assistant United States Attorney / Richmond
Zachary A. Kitts, K&G Law Group / Fairfax
Zachary Kitts is a partner at K&G Law Group, PLLC, where he concentrates his practice in the areas of qui tam litigation, business torts, and other complex civil litigation matters.
Mr. Kitts has prosecuted a wide variety of qui tam claims in state and federal courts across the country against health care providers, defense contractors, financial institutions, and others. To date, his cases have returned more than $120 million to the public fisc. His cases have been featured in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly top settlements for the years 2012, 2017, 2018, and 2021.
Mr. Kitts has been involved in several precedent-setting VFATA cases, including Commonwealth of Virginia ex rel. Siddiqui v. Navy Federal, Commonwealth of Virginia ex rel. FX Analytics v. Bank of New York Mellon, and Lewis v. City of Alexandria. He is widely recognized as an expert on state FCA legislation: he has testified before numerous state legislatures across the country about Virginia’s experience with the VFATA, and he was the primary architect of the comprehensive 2011 amendments to the statute.
On the federal side, Mr. Kitts’ cases include numerous matters of first impression, including United States ex rel. Decesare v. Americare, et al., 757 F.Supp.2d 573 (E.D. Va. 2010), and American Civil Liberties Union v. Holder, 673 F.3d 245 (4th. Cir. 2011), among others.
Mr. Kitts has been included in Virginia Super Lawyers magazine every year since 2011 and has been included in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2015. In 2020, he was the first lawyer ever to be named Qui Tam Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. He received his B.A. from George Mason University in 1998 and his J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law in 2001.
Robert McIntosh, Assistant United States Attorney / Richmond
Robert McIntosh became an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division in 2001. Since 2010, he has been the designated AUSA assigned to Affirmative Civil Enforcement.
In the broadest sense, Affirmative Civil Enforcement includes litigation in which the United States is the plaintiff seeking remedies for the United States under various federal statutes. A significant portion of that work involves the investigation and litigation of qui tam actions alleging violations of the federal False Claims Act. In the healthcare context, false claims result from providers submitting claims for services not rendered, for services rendered to ineligible beneficiaries, for “upcoding” (overbilling) services, for medically unnecessary services, or for claims involving “self-referrals” or referrals involving kickbacks to the referring provider. In the context of defense contracting and procurement, false claims can involve a contractor’s false representations to secure a defense contract, overcharging for what was provided, supplying defective parts or munitions, falsely certifying that certain parts or defense systems passed quality tests, etc. Notably, false claims can be actionable in almost every program where the Government pays out monies, including programs designed to protect third parties such as violations of the Davis Bacon Act (which requires that laborers employed on covered federal construction projects be paid wages and fringe benefits at rates at least equal to the locally prevailing rates for similar work). More recently, it involves false claims made under the Payroll Protection Program.
In his practice, Mr. McIntosh frequently jointly investigates and litigates claims of fraud with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Office of the Virginia Attorney General, as well as the Civil Frauds Section, U.S. Department of Justice.
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